An Adaptation Scheme for 5G and EtherCAT Integration

The integration of 5G and industrial networks is an important direction in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). One of the most essential protocols in Industrial Ethernet is EtherCAT with efficient communication mechanism, diverse network topology, and low transmission latency. This paper proposes a protocol adaptation scheme between 5G networks and EtherCAT networks to ensure the quality of service of different EtherCAT service flow. Specifically, service flow sensing, service flow mapping, service flow re-encapsulation, and clock synchronization adaptation mechanisms are presented to achieve efficient adaptation. Also, the presented adaptation scheme is implemented on the open-air interface platform. The experimental results show that the proposed adaptation scheme can meet the quality of service of different EtherCAT service flow while achieving adaptation for 5G and EtherCAT integration.